


Holding On

by Izzygrace07



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Aquaphobia, Fear, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Not Really Character Death, Phobias, Water
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 10:56:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19294303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Izzygrace07/pseuds/Izzygrace07
Summary: Sonic goes to the boardwalk at the request of Amy to help save a baby blue jay. Things go wrong, as they always do.





	Holding On

“Alright, Sonic, you can do this.”

Sonic mumbled to himself as he stood at the railing of the boardwalk railing and into the ocean, the sound of panicked tweeting reaching his ears. Thanks to a call from Amy, he knew that just underneath him, trapped on one of the support beams, there sat a baby bird with a broken wing, unable to leave the post without plummeting into the water to its death. Automatically, Sonic placed his sense of Justice over his sense of fear, but that didn't stop his stomach from twisting into sickening knots every time he looked over the railing and into the ocean below.

He took a deep breath, trying to psych himself up. Of course, of all the places, it had to be the very end of the boardwalk, where the water underneath him was at its deepest level. He turns a few times, looking for someone who could help him. Unfortunately, there was no one in sight, leaving him to his own devices.

He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead before gripping the railing and swinging himself over, planting his feet on the other side. He stood, holding on for dear life, as he leaned back slightly and glanced down, the water below taunting him to lose his grip. He took a shaky breath. “You're doing this to save a bird, Sonic,” he murmured to himself. “It's a living creature that deserves saving. You would want someone to save you if you were in its place. You're okay."

He took a look around him, squatting down slightly so he could better look under the boardwalk and at the support beams, his heart hammering in his chest the whole time. Amongst the old, decaying oak wood, the bright feathers of the baby blue jay stood out like a sore thumb. It's wing was clearly beant out of proper shape. Sonic gave a sad smile, sympathy filling his heart.

He reached for the bird, only to realize he was too far away, a fact he knew, but had refused to accept. He knew he had to get closer, and the only way he knew he could was by dangling from the railing's beams with both hands, outstretching his foot for the little jay to hop on. 

Resolute in his plan but hesitant on the entire execution, he eventually grasped lower onto the guard rail and let his feet drop from the safety of ground, hanging in the air. His entire body trembled as he caught sight of the water below him, making his head spin. Despite his fears, he forced himself to reach his foot out towards the baby bird. It took a moment, but eventually, the bird hopped up onto Sonic's foot, much to the hedgehog's relief. He brought his leg back slowly, releasing the railing with one hand to scoop up the jay with the newly free hand. It sat calmly in his grip, its emotions the complete opposite of Sonic's own.

The jay was set on the boardwalk, where it quickly bounced away, not giving Sonic a second look. He smiled, filled with a newfound solace. With that, he decided that this has been enough adventure for one day, and grasped the railing with both hands once again, pulling himself up towards the platform.

That was when he heard the sound of wood cracking. His weight pulling against the old railing of the boardwalk was a little too much, and it had started to fall apart. He scrambled to make it to the platform, but the disaster was far too in motion to be prevented. He fell with the railing.

He managed to grip the edge of the boardwalk in one hand as he fell, catching himself. A few seconds later he heard the splash of the railing hitting the water. His legs, however, were swinging in mid air, with nothing to find purchase on. He attempted to pull himself up, only for this to be proven much more difficult. Climbing hand over hand was much easier than trying to push all of his weight up at once.

“H-help," he tried weakly. Why now of all times was his loudness deciding to work against him? The old, jagged wood was digging into his hand, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on. “Someone, help! Is anyone there?”

The boardwalk appeared to be abandoned, save for him when he stepped out onto the platform. He was doomed. In his 15 years of life, this was his worst decision ever. He should have found someone to help him instead of doing it on his own, especially if there was water involved. Now the next time somebody saw him, it would be as a corpse floating along in the ocean.

Sonic gripped the platform tighter, sharp wood digging in further. If it cut him, he wouldn't be able to hold on any longer. He couldn't move around too much, and he didn't have enough upper body strength to pull himself up. He grunted with exertion and closed his eyes. His fingers were starting to go numb. This really was it.

“Sonic?”

Sonic’s eyes snapped open at the unknown voice. “I'm here!” he screamed, his voice finally at full volume. "At the broken railing!"

“Sonic?” He heard the voice again, concerned and slightly closer. “Where are you?”

“Help me!” he hollered. “I'm at—ah—the end of the boardwalk! I'm falling!” It was quiet for a moment, then he heard the distinct sounds of footsteps hitting the wooden floor.

Soon, Sonic was met with the eyes of a hedgehog he knew all too well, the one person he wasn't expecting to see at this moment in time. Shadow got on his hands and knees and leaned out over the edge, confused. His expression remained stoic as always. He reached down and wrapped his hand around Sonic’s wrist.

Sonic made a panicked noise, and felt fearful tears wetting his face. “I've got you, Sonic,” Shadow tried to soothe. He reached down with his other hand, grabbing Sonic's other wrist.  
Shadow began to pull, Sonic’s legs still swinging. The blue hedgehog tried to find something to put them on to help push himself up, but there was nothing. He rose steadily anyway, and for once he was thanking every god he could think of for his small stature and relatively light weight, and for the fact that Shadow was much stronger than Sonic.

Once Shadow had raised him up to his elbow, he stopped pulling, staring into Sonic's eyes. Sonic started back, trying to see past the tears that fogged his vision. Shadow offered a mischievous grin, eyes shining with malice.

"Shadow?"

Then he was falling.

The air was yanked out of Sonic's lungs as he plummeted toward the water below, unable to scream. Shadow has disappeared, leaving the younger hedgehog free falling to his inevitable demise. Never in his life had Sonic felt such a harsh betrayal, like his heart had been ripped clean from his chest. He closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face as he awaited the harsh impact of water on his skin.

Except he didn't hit the water, because he landed in the arms of Shadow, who hovered over the water. Sonic didn't dare to open his eyes, afraid of what he would see if he did. Instead, he tightly locked his arms around Shadow's neck, burying his face in his chest, panting and sobbing while his heart continued hammering.

Shadow frowned. “Are you okay?” 

Sonic was utterly paralyzed, left a crying, terrified mess. Pitying him, Shadow glided over the water, bringing the two back to the shore.  
Sonic was set onto the sand of the deserted beach, where he fell to his knees as soon as his feet hit solid ground. Shadow knelt beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay.”

Sonic sniffed again, and before he could stop himself, he’d thrown himself into Shadow’s arms. Shadow tentatively wrapped his arms around the sobbing hedgehog, rubbing gentle circles on his back.

"Why did you do that?" Sonic cried into Shadow's shoulder, voice cracking. "You know how much… Why did you…?"

Shadow let out a sigh. "I know. I was trying to mess with you. I was taught growing up that if you want someone to learn something, you force them to do it, so I thought if I dropped you in the water, you'd have to swim." The remorse drenched Shadow's voice. "But when you fell, I saw the terror on your face, and knew I couldn't do that to you. I'm sorry."

Sonic took a deep breath and pulled away, wiping at his face with his arm. "Just… Don't ever do that again. I'm not ready for that yet."

Shadow nodded. "I won't do it again. It was wrong of me to do it at all."

Sonic gave Shadow a thankful smile, his fear and anger fading into nothing. "Thank you. For not letting me hit the water, I mean." Suddenly, a question hit Sonic like a truck. "Hey, why are you here in the first place?"

Shadow blinked. "What?

"Literally nobody is here, and I came here because Amy told me a baby bird needed to be rescued," Sonic explained. "So why are you here if this place is practically abandoned?"

Shadow's face filled with a light blush as he sharply turned away. "Because…Rouge was with Amy that day and neither of them could get the bird, so she…"

Sonic beamed. "You were gonna rescue the bird?"

The blush deepened. "No."

Sonic wrapped his arms around Shadow with excitement. "Shadow, that's great! You've really changed, haven't you?"

Shadow sighed, resigning. "If I did, it's only because you annoyed me so much that I had to. Don't think to highly of it."

Sonic chucked, tightening his hug. "Your secret is safe with me, don't worry."

Shadow shook his head and let himself smile, knowing that Sonic couldn't see it.


End file.
